5 Ways to Say Hungover in Spanish in Latin America

If you’re traveling anywhere in Latin America, I guarantee a drink will find it’s way to your hand. Here are a few ways to say hungover in Spanish depending on where you are. I’ve included some hypothetical scenarios that may lead you to hangover status.

1) Mexico

The party’s just getting started in Mexico

It’s Mexico. It’s hot. Chances are you decided to stay in an all-inclusive resort like the terrible tourist you are. Unlimited drinks! Yay! You’ve had 10 shots of tequila, 10 shots of mezcal and a few Modelos to wash everything down. Chances are you’ll be saying this tomorrow morning to your server if you even make it to the breakfast buffet:

Estoy crudo (m)

Estoy cruda (f)

Mexicans also like to make things sound cute so if you’re only feeling a little bit hungover you can say:

Estoy crudito (m)

Estoy crudita (f)

Literally translated this means ‘I’m raw.’

2) Central America

Enjoying the best rum in Latin America, Flor de Caña

Central America can be quite the party land. Let’s say you find yourself in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua for Sunday Funday. After trying not to drown in a few hostel pools you’re about 14 shots deep into that world-famous Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Caña. It’s aged 7 years and damn it tastes good. Looks like you’ll be drooling this in Spanish next morning while waking up your whole dorm room:

Tengo goma

In English, this means ‘I have rubber’. You’ll probably feel like a piece of rubber too.

3) Colombia

A night out at the club in Medellín

So you’ve made it to through Central America to Colombia and guess what? It’s another mad party. You’re in Parque Poblado in Medellín drinking aguardiente like a local hero before you hit up the salsa bars. That’s the last thing you remember. I bet you’ll be saying this to your Spanish class in the morning:

Tengo guayabo

Translated, this means ‘I have a guava tree.’ The reason for this is as follows:

If somebody is hungover, they typically cannot move, let alone do anything. So somebody who is hungover will sit under a guava tree and have to wait for the fruit to fall because they’re too weak to actually get it themselves. Hence the guayabo to say hungover in Spanish. I don’t know why Colombians think like this, but this is apparently where the term comes from.

4) Chile

Nicolas Jaar live set in Santiago de Chile

So you finally made it to Chile. Some locals invite you out to La Piojera in Santiago for some Terremotos before you hit up a sick DJ set. They taste so sweet you can’t even tell you’re drinking alcohol! Who knew cheap white wine and pineapple ice cream could taste so good? Looks like you’ll need to learn this phrase for the morning:

Tengo caña

This literally means ‘I have cane.’ That is cane as in sugarcane.

5) Argentina

Drinking wine at a vineyard in Mendoza

You’re a wine fanatic so you know that Malbec comes from Argentina. You decide to rent a bicycle and do a tour of the vineyards in Mendoza to try out all your favorite Malbec brands. When you return your bicycle rental, surprise! The rental company owns a bar next door and you along with the 30 other people who rented bikes for the day get FREE wine for 2 hours! If you make it back into town, you’ll be saying hungover in Spanish like this in the morning:

Tengo resaca

This translated into English actually means ‘I have a hangover.’ It’s a term that originated from Spain that the Argentinians have adopted.

Well, there you have it. Next time you find yourself somewhere in Latin America and you overdo it one night, you’ll know how to say hungover in Spanish come morning. You may feel like crap, but think about how impressed your local friends will be at your Spanish.

Señor Resaca

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